Aplin repeats as LRTC’s A-State Player of the Year

From Arkansas State University

The Little Rock Touchdown Club announced Friday that junior quarterback Ryan Aplin, the 2011 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, has been selected as its Arkansas State MVP for the second consecutive year and will be honored at its annual banquet on Jan. 27 along with several other award winners at both the high school and collegiate level.

Aplin joins 2008 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year Alex Carrington (2008 and 2009) as the only other player to receive the Little Rock Touchdown Club's Arkansas State MVP honor for two different seasons. Former ASU stars Antonio Warren (2004), Eric Neihouse (2005), Reggie Arnold (2006) and Tyrell Johnson (2007) also received the award in past years.

Aplin is one of just two players in ASU history to receive the Sun Belt's highest football honor as its player of the year. This year alone, he broke his own single-season school records for total offense (4,176 yards), total offense per game (321.2 ypg), pass completions (304), passing yards (3,588) and passing yards per game (276.0).

In just three seasons he has broken the school record for career completions (633). Aplin is currently second all-time at ASU in career total offense (8,734) and passing yards (7,416) and third in passing touchdowns (43). He was named First Team All-Sun Belt Conference for the second consecutive season in 2011 and has now been awarded the league's Offensive Player of the Week honor five times over the last two years.

Aplin put up impressive numbers this season that were among the best in the nation. He ranked No. 10 in the country in total offense, No. 20 in completions per game (23.38), No. 14 in total passing yards and No. 33 in points responsible for (13.85 ppg). Additionally, he rushed for a career-best 588 yards that led the team and gives him 1,318 for his career. He had a team-high 10 rushing touchdowns that gives him 25 for his career, a total that ranks as the fifth most in school history.

One of just two players in the history of the Sun Belt Conference to record over 3,000 yards total offense in two different seasons, Aplin is quickly climbing in the league's career record books as well. He is listed among the conference's top five all time-leaders in total offense, completions and passing yards. His 2011 numbers were among the best in Sun Belt Conference history for a single season as well. He ranked No. 2 in total offense, No. 3 in touchdowns responsible for (30) and No. 5 in passing yards this year.

The Little Rock Touchdown Club Awards Banquet on Jan. 27 is set to begin at 11 a.m. and will be held at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock, where each award winner will have an opportunity to speak. Ticket information for the banquet can be found online at LRTouchdown.com.